Native Soil
by todd fan
Summary: COMPLETE! - Dani drags Forge off so she can scatter her grandfathers ashes. Inspired by Disney's Brother Bear. This is not a ForgeDani fic..more of a sibling bond, really.
1. Passing

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "Huh, ya leave town for a couple of decades and they change everything".  
  
****  
  
This strange fic was inspired by 'Brother Bear', well, to be truthfull, i started writing it when i saw the TRAILER for Brother Bear, and then seeing the movie provided more inspiration. I haven't yet seen Ghost of a Chance, which truly sucks, because Dani is one of my favorite comic characters, so if i'm a bit off on Evo Dani's character, blame UK TV.  
  
****  
  
Chapter 1 - Passing  
  
***  
  
Danielle Moonstar sighed sadly to herself from where she was curled up on her bed in her new home at the Xavier Institute, hugging a pillow. It had, granted, been a few weeks since it had happened...and it had hit her like a ton of bricks. Why it had happened she would never know, all she knew was that her beloved Grandfather was gone, attacked by a gang who had mistaken him for another. It WASN'T fair, she hadn't long been freed from her cavern prison, reunited with him....now she was alone again. Sure, she had the people of the Institute now.....but it wasn't the same, not even her bond with Kitty was the same as the deep one she had shared with Black Eagle. But now with no home, she had moved into the mansion, and had been moved into a room with Kitty. Rogue was VERY pleased with the idea of getting her own room, a 'Kitty Free Zone', as she called it.  
  
"Dani?".  
  
Danielle glanced up to see her roomate looking at her worriedly. Dani gave her a weak smile.  
  
"I'm okay Kitty", she said, "just...taking a few minutes to think".  
  
"Are you sure?", asked Kitty, "i know it's been tough for you".  
  
Danielle sat up with a sigh, still hugging her pillow.  
  
"Yeah...it has been", she said softly, "and i really miss namshim"  
  
Kitty sighed utting a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I know", she said, "well, if you need me, you know where i am".  
  
"Thank you, Kitty", said Dani, then sighed, "i can't mope around here forever".  
  
She pointed to a box sitting on her dresser.  
  
"I have a job to do".  
  
Kitty looked at the box and blinked, yeah, it was creepy as hell, but she was Dani's friend and so offered support anyway...it must be tough losing your only family member.  
  
"How are you going to get him all the way up to that mountain?", she asked, "it's pretty far, but if you want company..."  
  
Danielle shook her head softly.  
  
"It is my ancestors land", she said, "i think he would have only wanted those of our own descent to walk there.....err..no offense".  
  
"None taken", replied Kitty.  
  
Danielle gave a small sigh.  
  
"Grandfather was going to take me up to Maahe peak this year", she said, "he told me i was finally old enough to go...well, okay, 2 years beyond old enough, but...you know what happened there".  
  
"But....if you've never been, how are you going to find your way?", asked Kitty, concerned, "i don't know a whole lot about mountains, but i'm guessing that they're pretty dangerous to anyone who doesn't know the trail...especially if they are alone"  
  
"Oh, i won't BE alone", said Danielle with a small grin.  
  
"I thought the village ditched because of your powers", said Kity, "you know, the running in fear thing? Who's not going to be bothered about you traveling with them?"  
  
"Kitty, my girl", said Danielle, "i'm a Cheyenne with a plan".  
  
****  
  
"You want me to drive you where?".  
  
Danielle looked up hopefully at Forge, doing the best 'Bambi eyes' she could muster. When she'd actually discovered that Forge really existed (she had believed the elders had gone off their rockers and were making up stories when they talked about him) she had been ecstatic. Not only did she have fellow mutants to talk to, but a fellow Cheyenne mutant, who had ALSO been time-displaced AND living right there in Bayville, it couldn't get much better! WRONG!. To her utter disapointement, Forge pretty much ignored the existance of his heritage, and if the subject came up, he'd shift around it. She shifted her feet arkwardly, she knew she couldn't just SAY where she wanted to go, nope, this would have to be done slyly.  
  
"I want to visit Maahe Peak", she said, "but...i..errr don't know the way to go there and i'll get lost, but you DO know where it is, 'cause you've been there TONS of times, right?".  
  
"Why do you want to go there?", asked Forge, confused, "all that's there is the mountain and a general store at the foot of it....that's it".  
  
Okay, Dani girl, poor helpless orphan time.  
  
"But", she said sadly, "Grandfather *sniff sniff* Grandfather said he would *Sniff* take me there this year *Sniff* and i really miss him and it'll be, you know *Sniiiiiiff* a tribute to his memory".  
  
She added in a few more Sniffs and even a whimper for good measure. Forge gave a defeated sigh.  
  
"Oh, all right", he said, "we go there, you look around, we come right back, got it?"  
  
Danielle squeaked happily, hugging him. Forge, not a big fan of human contact patted her on the head and pried her off.  
  
"Néá'e?e, Forge!!!", she said happily, before clearing her throat and looking sad again, "i'm sure it would have made Grandfather very happy".  
  
"Yeah...i'm gonna suffer", muttered Forge, "no doubt Black Eagle would have LOVED it".  
  
****  
  
"Are you SURE you'll be alright?".  
  
Dani chuckled, turning to look at Kitty, from packing a rucksack.  
  
"Yes, Kitty, i'll be fine", she assured her worried friend, "Forge went on on that trail every year for six years...well...before he was zapped up that is...but he knows where he's going".  
  
"I don't know....", said Kitty, still unsure, "Forge doesn't really seem the 'outdoorsy' type....does he even know where you want to go?"  
  
"Well......not exactly", admited Danielle, "but i'll let him know as soon as we get there".  
  
Kitty looked pointedly at her room mate.  
  
"You are SO dead"  
  
~Danielle, Forge is here to take you on your trip~, came Xavier's 'voice', ~incidentally, i suggest you do TRY to tell him where you want to go...but not until he gets you there. I know how stuborn he is~  
  
Danielle grinned, at least Xavier was on her side.  
  
~Yes, Professor~, she 'said'.  
  
She finished throwing a few things in her rucksack, the box from her dresser first, then a few of the 'necessities' of being a teenager, before giving Kitty a big hug.  
  
"Good luck", said Kitty.  
  
"Thanks", said Danielle happily, "here i go!"  
  
With that, she slung her rucksack over her shoudler and bounded downstairs, bouncing past Xavier and Forge and heading outside to jump into Forge's truck.  
  
"She's up to something...isn't she?", said Forge wairilly.  
  
"No, not a thing", said Xavier inocently, "promise you won't toss my latest student into any unnecersary danger, hummm?"  
  
"Why would we be in any unnecersary danger?", asked Forge, only to see Xavier wheeling away, "....okay then"  
  
He sighed defeatedly. This trip was SO something he didn't need right now. He trudged to his truck, in which Danielle was already sitting, reaching over to tune in the radio.  
  
"Touch that and die", said Forge simply, getting in the drivers seat.  
  
"Awwww but i don't wanna listen to 70's tune aaaaallllll the way there", whined Dani.  
  
"Too bad", said Forge with a smirk, starting up the car and driving off, "like it or lump it"  
  
Danielle gave a snort, crossed her arms and chose to stare out of the window. Must be nice to Forge. However anoying he is...he is your meal ticket. You can't do this without him, so put up with him and when you get back you can give him as many scares as you like. Danielle sighed and closed her eyes. This was not going to be easy.  
  
***  
  
Yup Forge and Danielle are indeed both Cheyenne, something i hope Evo will show if there's a season 5 (hey any Forge at all would make me happy...poor guy). Before you all freak out on me this is N-O-T a Forge/Dani fic, more of your paternal/sibling type bond...yeah.  
  
And here's some translations:  
  
Namshim - My Grandfather  
  
Néá'e?e - Thank You  
  
Maahe - Arrow  
  
So, what do ya think?. Like it? Hate it? Review and tell me so! Until next time... 


	2. Getting Supplies

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Dislaimer: "I just said we'd make it across. I didn't say anything about the wheels staying on!  
  
****  
  
Thanks for all your reviews guys, i wasn't sure how this one would be recieved, but it's an idea in my head that must be freed ;)  
  
Elrohirthewriter - Where'd i get all the Cheyenne? From a brilliant website wich has, among names and the like a Cheyenne Topical Wordlist (with words to EVERYTHING) and a Cheyenne Dictonary. I'd put the link up, but FF.NET tends to eat web addresses, send me your email and i'll send you the link if you like ;D  
  
***  
  
Chapter 2 - Getting Supplies  
  
****  
  
The next thing Danielle knew she was being prodded awake.  
  
"We're here", said Forge, continuing to poke her, "so get up and look around so we can go home already"  
  
"Ugh?", replied Danielle drowsilly before opening her eyes and yawning, stretching, "oh...we're here"  
  
She got happily out of the truck and glanced at her surroundings. They were parked next to a general store, made out of a log cabin. And, sure enough, dead ahead was Maahe peak, one very large set of mountains that made one big trail. She smiled, her eyes drifting to the top of the largest mountain...THAT was where she had to go.  
  
"Cool", she said, then looked at Forge, dusting her hands, "well, lets get started then"  
  
Forge arched an eyerbow.  
  
"Started?", he questioned, "kid, we're done, i got you here, i take you back, i go home, end of story"  
  
"No, silly", said Danielle, rolling her eyes, "we're heading for the peak"  
  
"Maahe Peak?", said Forge, pointing at the mountain, "As in all the way there?"  
  
"Yes, I need to go to the peak itself", said Danielle with a nod.  
  
Forge did not take this well. At all.  
  
"....You can't travel there by car, it's a TWO DAY hike!".  
  
Danielle crossed her arms determined.  
  
"Then that's where i'm going", she said, "and that's how long it will take me"  
  
"You can't go there alone! You need someone with you that knows the trail", protested Forge.  
  
"...Which you do", said Danielle with a smirk.  
  
Direct hit. Forge blinked. NOW he knew what Xavier was talking about, he'd been DUPED!. Oooooh when he got back, 'Chucky' would find a few added 'extras' to his wheelchair.  
  
"I can't take you", he said, "i haven't been there since....well a long time".  
  
"I'm going with or without your help, Forge", said Danielle pointedly, starting to walk towards the mountain before pausing and looking over her shoulder, "but without it, i may not come back...your call"  
  
She started to trudge towards the mountain, really, really hoping Forge wouldn't call her bluff. Forge let her go a little bit, fine, let her go to certain death...take the wrong road that leads to that big thirty foot drop...or get mauled by bears...or cougars..or...  
  
"...Awww Hell!".  
  
Dani grinned happily, turning back to him.  
  
"Thank you!", she said.  
  
"Yeah, yeah", said Forge, "can we at LEAST get supplies first, i don't know about you, but i didn't pack for a two day hike".  
  
***  
  
The little bell above the door of the genreral store tinkled as they entered. The store was pretty much deserted and an old man watched as Danielle and Forge entered from behind the counter and continued to watch them as they went around the store.  
  
"Ooooh, i'll have this, and this, and this!", said Danielle, filling her little basket with candy, a magazine, a few hair products and a small snowglobe with a mountain in it saying 'I've been to Maahe peak'. Forge sighed, taking each thing out and putting them back.  
  
"Allow me to define 'bare essentials'", he said, "we take only what we need, such as food, torches and blankets....unless you WANT to hulk around a heavy backpack?"  
  
Danielle pulled a face, then snuck in a small yellow book entitled 'Worst Case Senario Handbook'. Forge rolled his eyes, tossing some food and rope into the basket with the rest of their stuff then went to the counter, looking at Danielle, who shrugged.  
  
"You don't have any money....do you?", he said.  
  
"I don't plan ahead", said Danielle sheepishly.  
  
Forge muttered under his breath, paying for their stuff before the old shop keeper stopped him.  
  
"You look very familiar...", he said, looking at Forge over the top of his glasses.  
  
"No i don't", said Forge quickly.  
  
"Yes...you look like that kid with the one arm that came up here with his grandfather!", said the old man, "oh, i forget his name...you releated to him?".  
  
"Never heard of him", lied Forge.  
  
"Oh...pitty", said the man, "you look JUST like him"  
  
Forge gave the man a smile before ushering Dannielle out of the shop as quickly as possible.  
  
"Why the heck didn't you tell him the truth?", she asked, bewildered.  
  
"Have YOU ever tried to explain being caught in a pocket dimension for twenty years and not aging to anyone?", said Forge, "we could be stuck there all week. Give me your backpack".  
  
Danielle gave a defeated sigh and handed it to him, Forge throwing any of her 'non essentials' into the tuck.  
  
"Hey, not my walkman!", said Danielle, "i need that".  
  
"We need room for food", said Forge, then paused at the box in the very bottom, "what's this?"  
  
"Very, VERY important!", said Danielle quickly, "please keep that one there..and don't disturb it, PLEASE"  
  
Forge arched a brow at Dani, who had a look of pleading desperation on her face. He sighed, shaking his head and leaving the box where it was, packing food into the rest of the pack. He handed it to her and she almost fell over with the weight.  
  
"Hey, that's heavy!", she protested.  
  
"You wanted to come here", said Forge, "stop whining, i've got the heaviest one"  
  
He packed up a bunch of torches, blankets and various other bits and bobs in a rucksack he bought at the store and gave Danielle a glare.  
  
"And to think..i'm not even getting paid for this"  
  
"You'll be paid with the satisfaction of doing something good and right", said Danielle with a positive nod.  
  
"...Yeah", said Forge dryly, "i bet Wolverine doesn't have this trouble"  
  
*****  
  
Incidentally, i don't own 'The Worst Case Scenario Handbook', but i do own a copy of it, what a GREAT bok it is! Do review. Until next time 


	3. A hiking we will go

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "I'm sure it's very helpful to know how to live in the forest and eat bark, but I'm going to teach you girls to survive in the wilds of Beverly Hills!"  
  
*****  
  
Hazah to all my readers, how you fill my heart with joy!  
  
Rogueandkurt - Don't worry none, chucks, this fic doesn't follow the Brother Bear plot at all, the movie just provided some good o'l fashioned inspiration ;D  
  
Risty - Yes indeed, i am from Cymru. Forge is a main character in quite a few of my later fics, Teacher Training and the last few Sidney chronicles to name but two.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 3 - A hiking we will go  
  
***  
  
"I'm a Lumberjack and i'm okay, i sleep all night and i work all day!"  
  
Forge closed his eyes and groaned as Danielle launched into another verse of that God-awful song. He was VERY tempted to push her off the mountain right now...but that would mean facing the wrath of Xavier...maybe if he faked his own death, he could get away with it?  
  
"Danielle, can't we walk quietly?", he asked, "as in no singing?"  
  
Danielle paused from where she was skipping on ahead to turn to look at him.  
  
"Okay", she said, and walked off, starting to hum the tune to song rather than sing it.  
  
"No humming either", said Forge.  
  
Danielle rolled her eyes, determined to win. She stopped humming and instead reached into her pocket, pulling out her harmonica and playing the tune on that. HAH, take that, Mr Brain!. Forge sighed, shaking his head, this experience was just proving that he would never be able to live in the Institute...with all those teenagers, hah, they'd all be dead within a week.  
  
"You know, all that noise will probably attract all the wild animals around here right to us", he said.  
  
"So?", said Danielle, pausing in her playing, "were both mutants, i'm sure we can handle ourselves"  
  
Forge gave a frustrated sigh.  
  
"Danielle, unless you forgot, my power revolves around technology, you SEE any technology around here?"  
  
Danielle stopped walking and glanced around. Rock, tree, fern, big rock, tree, bird...nope no technology.  
  
"No", she said, then shrugged, "oh well, you might be powerless, but i'm not"  
  
"Do your powers even WORK on animals?", said Forge  
  
Danielle shrugged as she continued walking.  
  
"I don't know, never tried it before", she said, "well, there's a first time for everything"  
  
With that, she started playing on her harmonica again.  
  
"I just want to go back to back to Bayville, to my nice, warm lab and my good, reliable machines", said Forge, "no more caves, no more teenagers, no more trees, no more GODAMN pinecones"  
  
"Aww cheer up, Forgey!", said Danielle, "we're getting back to our roots"  
  
"I'd rather not", replied Forge dryly, "and call me 'Forgey' again and you'll be taking a one-way trip off the side of the mountain".  
  
"Has anyone ever told you that you have really bad people skills?", asked Danielle.  
  
"Yes, numerous times", said Forge, "and y'know what? I don't care".  
  
Danielle rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath as she walked on ahead.  
  
"Are you SURE this hike takes two days?", she asked, "i mean....i'm bored already".  
  
"I'm sorry the hike has no in-hike movie", said Forge, "you're the one that wanted to come here. I would have been more than happy at home".  
  
"I'm not complaining", insisted Danielle, "i'm just tired and bored".  
  
"Oh boo hoo", said Forge, "i suppose you're hungry too, huh?"  
  
Danielle paused, considering this.  
  
"Actually, yes, i am a little", she said with a smile.  
  
"Too bad", said Forge, "we have to save our food. Two days is a long time, you know?"  
  
Danielle's face fell.  
  
"Awww that's not fair!", she said, "i wouldn't have known i was hungry if you hadn't said anything".  
  
"I know", replied Forge smugly, picking up a pinecone, "here, you can eat this"  
  
Danielle looked at it as if it were poison.  
  
"I am not putting that in my mouth", she said pointedly  
  
Forge shrugged.  
  
"Okay then, you can eat when we stop in a few hours".  
  
Danielle. Stopped. Dead.  
  
"A few HOURS?".  
  
"Yes, you know, sixty minutes?", said Forge, "a few of them".  
  
"But can't we rest a little bit more than that?", tried Danielle weakly.  
  
"No, that would take longer", said Forge, "i'm not planning on being on this hike any longer than i have to be".  
  
Danielle sighed, following after him again.  
  
"Well, you've been on this trail before", she said, "what did you and Naze do when you walked this?".  
  
Forge sighed, frowning slightly. Danielle winced, this was an unwanted subject.  
  
"Ask me no secrets, i'll tell you no lies", replied Forge simply.  
  
"Sorry", said Dani, "i won't bring it up again, promise. I just want to know what i can do to aliveate this mind-numbing boredom i'm going through".  
  
Forge shrugged.  
  
"I don't know, when i wasn't...being taught, i used to make up inventions in my head", he said, then paused, "but i don't think that applies to you. I don't know, Kid, think of something yourself".  
  
And so Dani thought, and thought. After only half an hour, she thought of something. And so, for the next three hours, she amused herself by counting rocks. Counting rocks out loud. Count rocks out loud in a sing-song voice. It was that reason Forge was very happy to see a resting stop straight ahead.  
  
"Okay, we can stop now", he said, interupting Dani on her count of her 'six- hundreth-and-eighty-fifth rock.  
  
"Finally!", said Danielle, sitting down heavily and pulling her rucksack off her shoulders, "i'm starved!".  
  
"Remember what i said about saving food, Dani", said Forge, wincing as the teenager started rummaging through the bag, tossing packets of food everywhere.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah", said Dani distractedly, "now where did you hide the chocolate?".  
  
******  
  
I obviously don't own 'The Lumberjack Song', which is a classic in it's own right, yep, that it is. Naze is not mine either, nope, he's a real cannon character, who i love to bits!. Naze rules! Ahem. Do review. Until next time.. 


	4. Grub's up

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "This bottomless pit a friend of yours?"  
  
****  
  
I shall give my readers a biiiig hug for reading and reviewing, I love you guys!  
  
****  
  
Chapter 4 - Grub's up  
  
***  
  
"I can't believe you didn't bring any chocolate".  
  
Forge rolled his eyes as Dani sulkily picked at a sandwich.  
  
"I didn't see much point", he replied, "it'd only melt"  
  
"Because I'm a teenager, and teenagers NEED chocolate", said Dani, then blew a rasberry for good measure, "i thought you'd have a teenage metabolism".  
  
"Yeah, but it doesn't really work with an adult mind", said Forge, "..besides, the sandwich is fine".  
  
"It tastes of cardboard".  
  
"No it doesn't"  
  
"Then you eat it".  
  
Forge paused on this.  
  
"I'm not hungry"  
  
"HAH!", said Dani, "you won't eat it either!".  
  
"I didn't say that", said Forge patiently, "I just said I wasn't hungry".  
  
Dani rolled her eyes, taking one last tentitive bite of her sandwich before tossing it at a rock....The sandwich bounced. Dani blinked.  
  
"Okay, I'm not eating any more cardboard-tasting food for as long as I live", she said, watching as the sandwich bounced down the side of the mountain.  
  
"Good luck in Bayville high, then", said Forge with a chuckle, "the food there can be used as frizbees".  
  
"It isn't THAT bad...is it?", said Dani, paling at the thought.  
  
"Lemmie put it this way", said Forge, standing up and starting to walk again, "in the 20 years I was stuck there, I discovered the mystery of the 'mystery meat'....it isn't pretty".  
  
"Gee, Forge, thanks for giving me a feeling of dread in attending my very first public school", said Dani sarcastically, following after him, "if things weren't bad enough. I mean, I've been tutored by my grandfather my whole life, now I have to go to a high school? With all those others kids?"  
  
"Nervous, huh?"  
  
"Terrified beyond all plausible reason, more like", said Dani, "I mean, what if they don't like me? Or pick on me?"  
  
"Or try and convice you to make a small enterprise out of making dreamcatchers and selling them off to all your hippie buddies?", put in Forge.  
  
He was awarded with a long, blank stare.  
  
"....Just me then", he said with a cough.  
  
Another long, long stare before Dani finally answered.  
  
"You knew hippies?", she said, her voice more than a little incredulous.  
  
"Don't say it like it's a bad thing", said Forge before smirking, "your mother was a hippie, you know. She came up with the dreamcatcher idea".  
  
A look of pure horror crossed Danielle's face. This was the look which came upon all teenagers whenether the fact their parents had a social life (and any embarassing stories that went with it) came up.  
  
"No way".  
  
"Seriously", said Forge, "Peg was the hippest hippy going, she was boss"  
  
"Boss?", Dani arched an eyebrow.  
  
"You have to stop me when I start on the 70's slang", said Forge, "I forget sometimes and lapse back into it".  
  
"Oh", replied Dani, "Grandfather said you and mom were close"  
  
"Well, she was the only one in the tribe that would speak to me", replied Forge with a shrug, "when my folks left to go to Bayville, she convinced her folks to go too. She didn't want me to experience 'the fun of high school' by myself, hence why you lived in Dark Hollow".  
  
Danielle blinked, well, that was new information.  
  
"You must have been a good friend for her to want to move with you", she replied.  
  
"Yeah", said Forge, "she was my best friend, heck, she was the only person who could cope with my creative energy...only because she had plenty herself, mind you. Did she still do all that painting and sculpting stuff...well later on?"  
  
Dani nodded.  
  
"Yeah, she'd get clay ALLLLLL over the place".  
  
"No change there, then", said Forge with a chuckle, "her favorite thing in high school was 'Psychedelic Pin Painting'".  
  
"Physco what now?", asked Danielle, looking completely perplexed.  
  
"She used to fill balloons with paint, put them on a white board, and then throw pins at them", said Forge, "it was a sure-fire way to make a complete and utter mess of everything, but to her, it was art".  
  
"Oh, please don't tell me that's what those splodgy things in the attic were?", winced Dani, "awww man, my mom was lame!".  
  
"The words 'Lame' and 'Peg Lonestar' don't belong in the same sentence", said Forge with a indignant snort.  
  
"You liked her, didn't you?", asked Danielle, a smile playing across her face.  
  
"Of course I did, she was my friend", said Forge, "it's no good not liking a friend, is it?"  
  
"No, I mean you REALLY liked her", said Danielle pointedly.  
  
Forge blinked, before he caught on.  
  
"Ooooh no no no", he said, shaking his head, "She was an amazing person, and my best friend, but...no, not like that".  
  
"Oh", said Danielle, deflating a little, "What did you think about dad?"  
  
"Never met him, after I got zapped up, sorry", said Forge, shaking his head.  
  
"Darn", said Dani, "he was a doctor".  
  
She paused, glancing out the the landscape...she missed her parents dreadfully. And now with her grandfather gone....it was beinging to hit home she was the last living member of her family...the last one.  
  
"You okay, Kid?", asked Forge glancing over his shoulder at her, "you stopped talking for longer than five seconds".  
  
"Mmm?", said Dani, snapping out of it, "oh...yeah, Forge..I'm fine".  
  
She pushed back her pain and started to trot ahead.  
  
"Come on then", she said, "the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get home, right?"  
  
Forge narrowed his eyes slightly as she headed up, before shrugging and following after her.  
  
*****  
  
And another chapter is down, poor Danielle *snuggles Dani* Danielle's mother was indeed called Peg Lonestar (is, really, 'cause she isn't actually dead, but that's a long and bizare story that the comics best tell) Whether she knew Forge or not is not said, I'm gonna play my 'Artist's License' card here ;) Do review, until next time... 


	5. Nightfall

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "Is that what you call roughing it?" "One bathroom for nine people? Yes"  
  
*****  
  
Chapter 5 - Nightfall  
  
****  
  
For the past four hours, Dani had decided to talk incesantely, about anything she could think of. Being a teenager, there wasn't a shortage of things to say. Forge had tuned out from her babbling about half an hour into it. It was an old trick he was quite proud of, all he had to do was add a 'uh huh' or ''course' every now and again and it seemed as if his full attention was on the conversation, while his mind could instead think about other things. The 'other things' this time were thing he could have been making back home, were he not on a mountain with an anoying teenager who seemed to be missing an 'off' button. Unfortunately for Forge, Danielle had noticed his lack of imput and had begun testing his level of concentration.  
  
"So, I'm thinking about getting a pet owl and teaching it how to skateboard", she said.  
  
"Uh huh".  
  
"How long do you think it'd take to train an owl to do that?".  
  
"'Course"  
  
"You're not listening to me, are you?"  
  
"Yup".  
  
Dani narrowed her eyes for a second, before taking a deep breath.  
  
"LOOK OUT, FORGE, IT'S A RABBIT!!!".  
  
That worked.  
  
"WHAT?!!!", squeaked Forge, snapping out of it and jumping onto a rock, "where, where?"  
  
He paused, glancing around.  
  
"...Wait a minute....there's no rabbit".  
  
"No", said Dani, "that's what you get for ignoring me".  
  
"That was low", replied Forge, clambering off his rock and starting to walk again.  
  
"I know", said Dani with a grin, "so..what do you think?"  
  
"About what?", said Forge.  
  
"Skateboarding owls", said Dani sarcastically, "about this trail, Stupid".  
  
Forge arched a brow.  
  
"What about this trail?"  
  
"If you were listening, you'd know", muttered Dani, "I was talking about the whole feel of history around it".  
  
"History?", said Forge, "Danielle, it's a big, big mountain...what's so historic and wonderfull about it?"  
  
"Think about it, our ancestors have walked this trail since..well FOREVER!", said Dani, "we've always been here...no one else in the Intsitute can attest to that".  
  
"No, you have a point there", said Forge, "okay, good for us, we get a big rock".  
  
"Can't you just hold a LITTLE bit of pride for your heritage?", asked Dani, "just a tiny bit, it can't hurt. I would have thought you of all people would have a little pride in where you came from".  
  
"Don't go there Danielle", said Forge, besides, times have changed, we can't live in the old ways anymore"  
  
"But we can try", protested Dani.  
  
"I did", said Forge, "and I don't even want to talk about what I got out of it. We are a dying race, a dying culture. I know, you know it and Black Eagle knew it"  
  
"We can't be THAT dead a race", said Danielle quietly, "if evolution gives us mutations...there still has to be hope for us"  
  
"TWO, Dani, count them", said Forge, pointing to himself then her, "one, two. Not exactly a huge climb on the evolutionary ladder, is it?"  
  
"Well...other tribes could have them"  
  
"Send me a memo when they show up", said Forge dryly, before glancing up at the sky, "it's getting dark".  
  
"So..where do we set up camp?", asked Dani hopefully.  
  
"Camp?", said Forge, "well, we could have set up a 'camp' if someone had been truthfull about what she ahd planned, so I could bring a couple of tents. But she didn't".  
  
"If i'd have told you what I truthfully wanted to do, would you have driven me here?", replied Dani.  
  
"No", said Forge, dumping his rucksack on the ground, "this'll have to do"  
  
"In...the open?", said Dani, looking around.  
  
"Mountain peaks in the middle of nowhere tend not to have five star motels", said Forge dryly, "It's just an hour from the peak now. If we make a move at dawn, we can get there early, then be able to make it back home by nightfall. Pass me the food bag".  
  
Dani passed him the rucsack she had been carrying. Forge tied a rope around it and proceeded to hang it from a nearby tree.  
  
".....What are you doing?", she asked, eyeing the bag with her precious cargo in worriedly.  
  
"It's so we don't get a bunch of bears coming along to eat our food", said Forge.  
  
"..Oh", said Danielle, going quiet, "....my parents were killed by a bear"  
  
"I know", replied Forge, tying off the rope, "you wanna talk about it?"  
  
Dani was quiet for a moment.  
  
"No".  
  
"Fair enough", replied Forge, not saying any more on the subject and opening up his own rucksack, "here".  
  
He tossed her a few blankets.  
  
"Aren't we going to have a fire or something?", said Dani, shivering, "I know enough about the desert to know it gets cold at night".  
  
"Already on it", said Forge, breaking off a few branches and tossing them on the ground, "hey, wanna see an old tribe trick for setting a fire?"  
  
Danielle perked at the opportunity to see Forge do anything remotely Native American-like.  
  
"Sure", she said.  
  
Forge grabbed some sand, tossed it on the sticks, waved his hands over them, before quickly changing his arm into a blow torch and setting it alight.  
  
"Ta da!", he grinned.  
  
"Oh, very funny", said Danielle dryly.  
  
"I know", said Forge, "you hungry?"  
  
"No", replied Dani quickly, not wanting another 'cardboard sandwich'.  
  
"Fair enough", shrugged Forge, pulling a chocolate bar out of his pocket.  
  
Danielle's eyes widened.  
  
"You!!!", she said, struggling for words, "you've had that all this time?!!!"  
  
"Yup"  
  
"You knew I wanted chocolate, why didn't you tell me you had some in your pocket?"  
  
"You never asked", replied Forge simply.  
  
Dani gave Forge a death glare, before folding out a blanket on the ground and sitting on it sulkily. There was a thud as half the chocolate bar landed next to her.  
  
"Don't say I don't give you anything", said Forge.  
  
Dani picked the chocolate up, blinked at it, then blinked at Forge.  
  
"...Thank you".  
  
"You're welcome".  
  
After Dani finished off her chocolate, she gave a yawn.  
  
"Mmmm I'm sleepy, what about you?"  
  
"Don't worry about me, my mutation keeps me awake most of the time anyway. Get some sleep, Squirt"  
  
Danielle wrinkled her nose at him before snuggling down, resting her head on her backpack and pulling a blanket around herself.  
  
"Don't call me Squirt", she said sleepily, "'night Forge, i'll try not let my powers go nutso"  
  
"If i see a rabbit, you're dead", said Forge with a dry chuckle.  
  
"I could make your hearts desire instead", came a muffled comeback from under her blanket.  
  
"Kid, you are WAY to young to see that", replied Forge.  
  
".....Thanks alot", said Dani dryly, "I'll get you back for that one"  
  
"Heh, sure you will, Kid".  
  
He was replied with a snore.  
  
******  
  
In the Marvel universe, there are indeed a few other Native American mutants, Shaman and Talisman (both Saracee from Alpha Flight) and the various forms of John Proudstar (An Apache) to name a few. The 'Tribal way of making fire' was inspired by an episode of Quantum Leap. Do review. Until next time... 


	6. Former lives

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. Your life, on the other hand, is like this box of ACTIVE GRENADES!"  
  
****  
  
Risty - So far, I've only seen one Welsh character in the X-Men world. He was in one issue of Ultimate X-Men and was a human called Dai (pronounced by you non-Welsh speaking types 'Die'). Then Psylocke went and dissed the Welsh and put herself on my 'characters I hate' list.  
  
Blink - That quote was from one of my favorite movies 'Troop Beverly Hills' :)  
  
***  
  
Chapter 6 - Former Lives  
  
****  
  
Danielle had been having a wonderfull dream involving Heath Ledger feeding her grapes, while he wore nothing more than a loincloth while she rested on a cloud.  
  
"Oooooh Heathy", she said, then felt something snuffle at her neck.  
  
Her eyes darted open and she came face to face with a racoon.  
  
"Aiiieee!", she squeaked, backpedalling away from it.  
  
The racoon blinked at her, before scuttling around the rest of the 'camp'. Dani glanced around, noticing Forge had gone...he hadn't abandoned her...had he?. She looked back at the racoon, trying to remember whether or not they ate humans.  
  
"Foooooorrrge?", she called, "this isn't fuuuuuny!".  
  
Dani paused when she heard laughing.  
  
"I'm serious!!!!!!", she snapped.  
  
"Serious about what?".  
  
Dani turned to see Forge looking at her rather confused.  
  
"Where the heck WERE you?", said Danielle, "and why were you laughing?!".  
  
"I was checking the trail", said Forge, "and when did I laugh?"  
  
"Just then"  
  
"No, I didn't"  
  
"I HEARD you!".  
  
Forge arched a brow.  
  
"I think you've been outside for too long", he toled her, "you're going loco"  
  
"I HEARD laughing", grumbled Danielle, standing up, "I know what I heard!".  
  
"Uh huh", said Forge disbelievingly, "help me pack up, it'll take no time to get to the top of the peak now"  
  
Danielle grumbled to herself and went about packing up her blankets, shooing away the racoon as she did so.  
  
"I bet you did laugh", she said grumpily after they started walking again.  
  
"Oh, will you give it a rest already?", said Forge, rolling his eyes, "I didn't laugh, I wasn't anywhere near you. It was just you and that racoon"  
  
"Oh and I suppose the racoon laughed?", said Dani sarcastically, "and you don't have to be near me for me to hear you, given your history, you could pull off something like that".  
  
"I really wish you'd stop bringing that up", said Forge, "it doesn't matter, the past is in the past, and i'd like to keep it there. It's none of your buisness".  
  
"I think it is", said Danielle, stopping in front of him, blocking his way, "I know what happened to you, why you left the tribe!".  
  
"Oh really?", said Forge, rolling his eyes, and trying to step past her, but Dani was having none of it.  
  
"Yeah, I know who you are and what you were trained to do", said Danielle, "you were trained by Naze to take his place as the tribes Shaman, but you couldn't cope, so you ran away"  
  
"I left because I wanted to make my OWN destiny, and my own life", said Forge irritably, if there was one thing he hated, it was having his past dredged up.  
  
"Why are you so ashamed of your heritage?, it is something to be proud of, YOU carry it like a burden", asked Dani.  
  
"Because it WAS burden, for a good deal of my life", replied Forge, "You know what it's like to spend the time from your birth being told EXACTLY what your future had in store for you, not to have a choice on your destiny, to follow some stupid LEGEND?!".  
  
"The Adversary is not a ledgend", said Danielle, "just like the demon bear that killed my parents, it's very real, and it's YOUR duty to get rid of it"  
  
"I had to listen to this nonsense for 13 years, I'm not listening to it now!", said Forge, "so just save it, because i'm not listening. I had to take that stuff from all the elders AND my grandfather, you think I'm gonna take it from a kid?"  
  
"I am NOT a kid!", snapped Danielle.  
  
"Funny, you look like one to me".  
  
"Funny, so do you", Danielle sent icily back.  
  
That did it, Forge shook his head, flinging the pack over his back and turning the other way.  
  
"We're going home, and we're going home now"  
  
"But...i haven't got to the peak yet!", said Danielle.  
  
"This is as far as we go", said Forge, "I've had enough of this wild goose chase as it is. We're going home".  
  
"I'm not leaving until I've been to the peak!", said Danielle, stamping her foot in defiance.  
  
"Why is that so important to you, anyway?", said Forge, "there's nothing up there!"  
  
"I have my reasons", said Danielle, not giving an inch, "fine, if you won't help me, I'll go on my own!".  
  
"You can't, you'll get yourself hurt", said Forge, crossing his arms, "there's no way you're going up there alone"  
  
"Watch me", said Danielle, proceeding to climb up a rock face.  
  
"Fine!", shouted Forge up to her as she climbed, "go ahead and get yourself killed, see if I care. No skin off my nose!"  
  
With that, he turned on his heel and started off in the other direction.  
  
Daneille narrowed her eyes in determination, carrying her way up the rock face. She knew what she was doing, she'd been hiking PLENTY of times. She didn't need that stuborn, igronant.... She pulled herself up to one of the ledges and edged her way around it. Heh, this was soooo cake. Crrrrrck. Dani stopped dead....that wasn't a good sound. She moved to edge her way back the way she came, but the ground beneath her collapsed, and with a scream, she fell down into an undergound cavern. She hit the ground with a thump, taking a few minutes to get over her fall before trying to move. She winced as pain shot up her shoulder, she glanced at it, seeing it hanging at an odd angle....great, just great. She glanced up at the hole she had come through, a small shaft of light emitting from the top of the cave. No, no, no, no, not this again. She couldn't spend anymore time in one of these caves. She closed her eyes and gave a small whimper, suddenly feeling very, very alone.  
  
****  
  
Cliffhanger!!! Hah hah! Ahem, yes, well. All the Shaman stuff is cannon, as is the Adversary and the demon bear. Do review. Until next time... 


	7. Inner demons

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: 'Dreams, then, are bubbles, insubstantial globes of of waking matter, by their nature rising buoyant through the enveloping element of sleep'.  
  
***  
  
Hazah to my reviews. And it's snowing here, yey! Curse my love of watching snow, it's very distracting....but so pretty. Anyway, I now mess up the Demon Bear saga the only way I know how ;D  
  
****  
  
Chapter 7 - Inner demons  
  
****  
  
Dani blinked as she found herself standing on the top of a cliff. Two figures walked ahead of her, it didn't take her long to realise they were her parents:  
  
"Náhko'e!, Ného'e!", she called out. [1]  
  
They turned to her and smiled, waving. Danielle smiled back, opening her mouth to speak again, only to have it cut off by a huge roar. Dani spun around in shock, seeing a huge, black bear lumber out of a patch of forest. It roared again, bearing huge, sharp fangs.  
  
"Look out!!!!". Danielle screamed to her parents.  
  
They turned to see the bear and headed towards her, intent on protecting her.  
  
"Forget about me!!!", Dani said, shaking her head, "I can protect myself".  
  
The bear, however, noticed her parents and charged towards them.  
  
"No!!", Danielle screamed, "leave them alone!!!"  
  
She suddenly felt something in her hands, she looked down to notice she was holding a bow...where had THAT come from?..and why were there no arrows? Out of instinct, she raised the bow, blinking in suprise as an arrow, made of glowing light, appeared in the bow, ready to be fired. Danielle didn't think twice, she shot the arrow at the bear, clipping it on the ear. The bear turned from where it had cornered her parents to growl at her. It gave what Dani could have sworn was a sneer, before raising a huge clawed hand and bringing it down. She closed her eyes, unable to watch.  
  
"No!!!!", she screamed, then opened her eyes to find her parents had vanished.  
  
The bear stood up on it's hind legs, walking towards her. Dani went to raise her bow again, only to descover it had gone. The bear dropped onto all fours once it had reached her, it's face within inches of her own.  
  
"Little Spirit, help us", came a voice from within the bear..her fathers voice.  
  
"We're trapped!!!", came her mothers.  
  
The bear blinked at Danielle before roaring again, rearing up and raising a paw. Danielle braced herself....the killing blow never came. She shot her eyes open to find herself back in the cave, a concerned Forge pushing her gently.  
  
"Dani", he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed her wake up, "geez, Kid, don't scare me like that again. I thought you'd gone back into the hibernation thing".  
  
Danie groaned, putting her good hand to her head.  
  
"Forge?", she said, "where?....".  
  
"I followed you", he admited, "hey, I may be stubborn, but I'm not completely irrisponsible".  
  
"Oh", said Dani quietly, shutting her eyes and opening them, "I...I had a strange dream..it was almost real....I saw my parents get killed...the bear. I tried to save them...but..but I couldn't...I couldn't".  
  
She gave a small whimper, then suprised Forge by burrying her hed in his chest, sobbing quietly. Forge blinked, before sighing, giving her a gentle hug and rubbing her back.  
  
"Hey, shh, It's okay", he said gently, "it was just a dream"  
  
"But...it was so REAL", said Dani, pulling away, tears dripping down her cheeks, "and...it was like my parents were...were IN the bear".  
  
Forge arched a brow.  
  
"IN the bear?".  
  
Danielle paused to really consider this.  
  
"Okay...maybe I've been out in the sun too long", she said, before wincing as her arm stung, "oww".  
  
"What'd you do?", asked Forge.  
  
"Oh..it's nothing", Dani lied, "I just hurt my arm when I fell down here..that's all".  
  
Forge shook a disbelieveing head, taking her injured arm and looking it over.  
  
"It's okay, it's just dislocated, I can fix it for you, you just gotta be brave while I pop it back in, huh?".  
  
"...So..you're a doctor now?", said Dani, the opportunity to tease Forge making her feel a little better.  
  
"No, but I'm a shaman, remember?", said Forge, "keep still".  
  
"No, it hurts!", said Dani.  
  
"Just take a deep breath", said Forge calmly, taking hold of her arm, "it'll only hurt for a second, I promise".  
  
"No!", squeaked Danielle, pulling her arm away then wincing at the pain moving it brought.  
  
Forge sat back and thought for a moment.  
  
"Okay, look, I have to fix this for you", he said, "think of something else, huh?"  
  
"Like what?", whimpered Dani, "I can't!!!".  
  
"Just try", said Forge.  
  
He carefully took her arm again, but she was still flinching too much, he needed to get her mind off it. He pondered on this for a second, then remembered an action his mother had taken, way back when he was just a kid. He was just getting used to not having his right arm anymore..well before he had made his bionic one...and it hadn't exactly been an easy transistion. He took a deep breath and sung quietly.  
  
"Praise for the red dawn, Grass that we walk upon, Praise for the river's whispered tune", he sang, then looked at her, "come on, you know it as well as I do, sing with me"  
  
Dani opened one closed eye, recognising the song. She shut her eyes again, but loosened a little, singing along nervously to the ancient tune.  
  
"Praise for the wind brother, Praise for the earth mother, Praise the father sun, And sister moon". [2]  
  
There was a small pop. Dani opened one cautious eye.  
  
"Is it done?".  
  
"It's done", said Forge, "well done, kid".  
  
Dani tested her arm nervously, okay, it hurt a little, but she could move it now.  
  
"T....thank you", she said quietly.  
  
"You're welcome", said Forge, standing and helping her up, "now lets find a way outta this cave, huh?".  
  
"Yeah, no more caves for me", said Danielle, following after him.  
  
The cave Dani had fallen into led into a much bigger one. A hole in the roof allowed the morning light to shine into it, illuminating hundreds of cave paitings.  
  
"Whoah", said Dani in awe, "have you ever seen this place before?"  
  
"No", said Forge, glancing around, "this is a new one for me"  
  
"This place is SO cool!", said Dani, running over to one wall with the Cheyenne flag next to it, "these things must be ancient!".  
  
She looked at a Cheyenne inscription beside the flag.  
  
"A nation is not conquered, Until the hearts of its women are on the ground.Then it is finished, No matter how brave its warriors, Or how strong their weapons", quoted Danielle, then grinned, "oooooh i like the way our ancestors thought" [3]  
  
"You would", smirked Forge.  
  
"Everyone who's ever been here has made their family mark!", said Dani, "i mean, wow, some of these must have been here for GENERATIONS!".  
  
She put her hand over a painting of a moon on top of a star.  
  
"Wow look, here's mine, Moon-Star, you see it?", she said excitedly  
  
"Yes", said Forge calmly.  
  
Dani jumped over to another with a Sun over a River.  
  
"There's my friend Haley SunRiver...back at the reservation!", she paused looking at Forge's, "where's yours".  
  
Forge was silent for a minute, his eyes following the patterns to one particular one. He looked at it before sighing, turning his head away.  
  
"I don't see it", he said quietly, walking on, "come on".  
  
Danielle blinked, before sighing and following after him.  
  
"I'm sorry", she said quietly.  
  
"For what?".  
  
"For bringing up your past like that....I know you don't like to think about it", said Dani, "sometimes I forget that you're not as proud of our heritage as I am"  
  
Forge sighed, stopping to look at her.  
  
"It's not that", he said, "I'm proud of who I am, and where I come from. It's just..difficult sometimes. My mutant powers and my...other powers contradict each other, it's kinda hard to keep them in balance".  
  
"Oh", said Dani, "....well...I'm still sorry"  
  
"Don't worry about it", said Forge, continuing walking, "hey, there's an exit".  
  
**** [1] - Náhko'e - Mother, Ného'e - Father  
  
[2] - Mercilessly stolen from the movie Balto II  
  
[3] - Apparently, this is a real Cheyenne saying, nifty, huh?  
  
And there's another chapter down, with quite a few more to go yet. Most of the bear stuff I got from the demon bear saga and changed it....because it is a really, really bizare storyline. Do review. Until next time.. 


	8. Maahe Peak

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "If you intend to live long enough to say 'you told me so...' ...then keep your head down!"  
  
*****  
  
Hey all, sorry I'm sop late in updating this, my muse got distracted with the Sidney Chronicles, bad muse, bad!  
  
Snitter in Rivendell - Yeah, Balto II is a load of crap, to put it politely, the song I used, known as 'Muru's Chant' is pretty much the only part of the movie I like, bar the other songs.  
  
******  
  
Chapter 8 - Maahe Peak  
  
****  
  
Sure enough, the cave DID have an exit....unfortunately, it led to somewhere off the trail. After about an hour of walking around in a circle and getting nowhere, Dani decided to point out the fact that maybe, just maybe, they were lost. She got the obvious reply whenever it is stated to a male that he could be lost.  
  
"I'm not lost"  
  
"What IS it with guys and not being able to admit when they're lost?", said Dani, rolling her eyes.  
  
"I'm not lost", repeated Forge, "I'm mearly....displaced from where I know where I am".  
  
"....That's just a fancy way of saying your lost", replied Dani, then smirked, "yeah, I have a brain too".  
  
"I'm not lost", Forge said, for the third time, just in case she didn't get it.  
  
"Well, where are we then?", said Dani.  
  
"We're.....somewhere"  
  
"Kinda vague isn't it?", she said, "I mean EVERYONE is somewhere".  
  
"Well, that's where we are", said Forge with an afirmative nod.  
  
Danielle paused, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
"You don't have the slightest idea where we are...do you?"  
  
Forge cleared his throat.  
  
"....If I said 'no', would you judge me?"  
  
"No offense, but you're a pretty lousy Cheyenne", said Danielle pointedly, "I mean, you can't even find your way on a trail you've walked for almost all of your childhood".  
  
"I wouldn't be lost if I hadn't been diverted from the trail", said Forge sarcastically.  
  
"Technically, that wasn't my fault, I...", Dani trailled off, turning her gaze to a bobcat sitting on a rock, staring at them bemusedly.  
  
"What?", said Forge, "it's a bobcat...you really should know that".  
  
Dani didn't reply, staring at the bobcat, unblinking. She could almost FEEL their minds merging. More of feeling than actual words passed between them.  
  
"Hey....i can talk to it", she said.  
  
Forge arch a brow, unbelieving.  
  
"What..you're Miss Doolittle now?"  
  
"It all makes sense", said Dani, "you weren't laughing back on the trail...it was that racoon!"  
  
"..Laughing racoons now?", said Forge, "Kid, you're starting to go off the deep end, boogie off onto a head trip".  
  
Dani ignored the comment and continued to stare at the bobcat.  
  
"It says it knows where we want to go", she said, starting off after the bobcat as it padded off, "it'll show us!".  
  
"...Or it's taking us to the rest of it's pack where they will kill and eat us", said Forge with a mutter, but following after her, he didn't want a repeat of the last incident.  
  
"Bobcats don't live in packs, silly", replied Dani.  
  
"Whatever", said Forge, "I never thought I'd be following a bobcat because an annoying teenage girl thinks she can hear it".  
  
"I haven't been THAT annoying", said Dani, "I can be REALLY annoying, you know".  
  
"I doubt you can be any more annoying than you've already been", said Forge  
  
Dani took in a deep breath.  
  
"I'm Henry the eighth I am, Henry the eighth I am, I am, I got married to the widow next door, She's been married seven times before", sang Dani at the top of her lungs, "And every one was an Henry, She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam, I'm her eighth old man, I'm Henry, Henry the eighth I am, Second verse same as the first, I'm Henry the eighth I am.."  
  
"It's not going to work, Dani", said Forge  
  
Dani ignored him, carrying on singing. Forge managed to cope until she'd got onto the twelth running of 'I'm Henry the eighth I am' before he gave up.  
  
"OKAY!!!", said Forge, "no more, PLEASE!".  
  
"See, I told you I could be more annoying!", said Dani smugly, then blinked, "Earl says we're here".  
  
"Earl?", blinked Forge, "who the heck is 'Earl'?".  
  
"The bobcat...duh", said Dani.  
  
"Did you just 'duh' me?", replied Forge, "I dislike being 'duhed'".  
  
"Yeah yeah, because you have a freakishly high IQ", said Dani, waving her hands, then pointing at the trail, which 'Earl' was sitting on, "and yet...you've just been outsmarted by a bobcat"  
  
"I could have found the way myself", said Forge, "I didn't need 'Earl' or his help".  
  
'Earl' glanced at Dani, before trotting off.  
  
"Earl said that it's a miracle you're not dead yet", she translated, before heading off along her newly found trail.  
  
"..What does Earl know, he coughs up hairballs", muttered Forge, truging after her.  
  
Once they were back on the trail, it didn't take them long to finally reach the top of the peak. Dani grinned, jogging on ahead to get a good look at the view. And what a view it was! She could see for miles around.  
  
"Woah!", she said, "this is SO cool!!!".  
  
"Uh huh", said Forge flopping down to sit on a rock.  
  
"A little more enthusiasim wouldn't go astray", said Dani.  
  
"Whoop de do", said Forge dryly, "sorry, when you've seen it as many times as I have..it gets old".  
  
Dani frowned, before sighing, she couldn't really blame the guy, most of the time he'd been up here hadn't exactly been 'happy times' for him. She took in the view again before noticing something from the corner of her eye. To one side of the peak, just visible from a cluster of large rocks, was a long, thick pole sticking out of the ground. On closer inspection, it had thousands of small lines etched into it.  
  
"Forge...what's this?".  
  
"Mmm?", said Forge, getting up and walking over, "oh, that. The general idea is that on your first visit up here, you're supposed to carve a line into the pole".  
  
He rummaged in his rucksack, pulling out a pocket knife and handing it to her.  
  
"That would be you, then".  
  
"Oh", said Dani, before tentively etching a small line of her own amongst the others.  
  
"There, you did it", said Forge, "can we go home now, please?".  
  
"No".  
  
Forge blinked, unsure if he'd misheard her.  
  
"...Did you just say 'no'?", he asked, "you're her, Dani, I did what you asked, I brought you up here, and now I'm going to take you all the way back down again".  
  
Dani frowned, before pulling her backpack off her back.  
  
"There's something I have to do first"  
  
*****  
  
Another chapter down and done. I don't own the terribly annoying 'I'm Henry the eight I am'. Incidentally, Dani was close to a bobcat in the comics, plus the bobcat is my totem animal :) Do review. Until next time... 


	9. Goodbyes

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "Don't mess with the dead, boy, they have eerie powers".  
  
****  
  
*Hugs all her readers and reviewers* You guys are the BEST people!  
  
Caliente - Yup, Dani can comunicate with animals with her powers, in fact, she can be in phsycic raport with Rahne while she is in wolf/werewolf form.  
  
***  
  
Chapter 9 - Goodbyes  
  
****  
  
"You have to do something first?", asked Forge, cocking his head to the side as Danielle carefully pulled the box out of her backpack, ".......What the heck is in that box anyway?"  
  
Dani lovingly checked the box over, before answering calmly, as if all that was in it was some pot pouri.  
  
"Grandfather"  
  
"Oh that's....wait, did you just say...?.", Forge blinked, "we've been carting around a dead guy for a day and a quarter?"  
  
"Yeah, I promised him I'd scatter his ashes on Maahe peak, it's where he wanted his Spirit to rest", said Danielle, not looking up from her box, "that's why I wanted to come up here".  
  
Suddenly, Forge felt very much like a heel.  
  
"Oh......I'm sorry".  
  
"S'ok", said Danielle with a small shrug, "I didn't tell you".  
  
"I wish you had", replied Forge, "I might have been a bit more understanding....you want some time alone?"  
  
Danielle gave a mute nod. Suddenly, this seemed alot harder than she had expected. Forge gave her a small smile, patting her shoulder before walking down the trail a little bit. When he was out of sight, Dani hugged the box with a sad sigh.  
  
"I will miss you, Namshim. You taught me so much, I don't know what I will do without you", she said, quietly "Nemehotâtse" [1]  
  
She sighed again, kissing the top of the box before opening it up and tipping it, letting the ashes scatter. They were quickly picked up by a gust of wind, lifted into the air and away. Dani watched until she could no longer see them, before sighing and heading down the trail, her head hung low. She passed by Forge without a word, she had done what she had came to do...and now she was tired. She just wanted to go home. Forge followed quietly behind her, letting her have her time alone. It was a long time before either of them spoke.  
  
"We should be at the end of the trail in about an hour or so", said Forge, before glancing at her, "how're you holding up?".  
  
Dani shrugged.  
  
"I don't know", she replied, "I...I don't think I realised he'd really gone until today".  
  
"Yeah...it's not easy", said Forge, "I felt pretty lousy after my father died.....then again, the fact that I'd lost an arm as well didn't help much".  
  
Dani cocked her head to the side, curiously.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Forge held up his prosthetic arm.  
  
"I lost my father in the same accident which took this", he explained, "well...actually he died a few days after from 'complications'"  
  
"You never mentioned this before", said Dani  
  
"That's because I don't like talking about it", said Forge sadly, "I was only 12, and I'd lost my Father and my arm in one car accident..well..actually I have the 'brave and decent' firemen and their trusty 'jaws of life', which, ironically, ruined mine". [2]  
  
"Eww", said Dani, "please don't go into any details, if I hear you utter the word 'crunching', I may have to hit you".  
  
"Sorry", said Forge, "though at least I have a good excuse for jumping whenether I hear a fire truck".  
  
"That must have sucked", said Dani.  
  
"'Sucked' is an understatement", said Forge, frowning, "but, hey, I survived it".  
  
He pulled his shell necklace from under his T-Shirt.  
  
"He gave me this before he died..I've worn it ever since", he said, "..err what I'm trying to say is..even if they've gone, they never REALLY go".  
  
Dani smiled, nodding.  
  
"Yeah...thanks Forge", she said, then chuckled, "I didn't know you could be that deep"  
  
"Don't get used to it", said Forge, "it'll be hidden behind sarcasm and seventies lingo in no time"  
  
"Wouldn't want it any other way", said Dani, before chuckling again and nodding at his arm.  
  
"How'd long it take you to make that thing, anyway?", she said.  
  
"Well...my mutation didn't manifest until I was a bit older, so I had to cope with..wel..a hook", said Forge, pulling a face, "I hated that thing. I used to go around scraping the doctors car doors with it".  
  
"You were kinda... vengefull", said Danielle.  
  
"Damn right I was", said Forge, "my muattion may not have kicked in, but I still liked making stuff, I was NOT a happy patient. Luckily, when my mutation did manifest, I just sat myself down and made this thing".  
  
"Well, if this inventing thing flops, you could always go into the prosthetics industry", joked Dani, "the Palace of Prostheses!" [3]  
  
"...Yeah, I'm sure it'll be a hit", said Forge dryly, "so, you gonna be okay, Kid?"  
  
"I will when you stop calling me 'Kid'", said Dani.  
  
"I'll stop calling you 'Kid' when you're twenty".  
  
"That's not fair!"  
  
"Yes, it is".  
  
"Fine", said Dani, smirking, then I get to call you ma'háhkéso" [4]  
  
"Doesn't bother me, no one else will understand you when you do it", said Forge, "and I'm not old"  
  
".....Damn language barriers", muttered Dani, "and you are, do you remember Elvis?"  
  
"....Yes", said Forge.  
  
"Do you remember......various silly TV programing with a fifties nostaliga theme?"  
  
"Don't you pick on Happy Days", said Forge simply, "one word against Fonzie and I'll be forced to kill you".  
  
"Who?"  
  
"......Never mind"  
  
********  
  
[1] - I love you  
  
[2] - No, this is not cannon, but as seen as Evo screwed things up, making it impossible for Forge to have been in the Vietnam war (how he originally lost his limb (s)) I had to make something up ;)  
  
[3] - A shop in the game 'Escape from Monkey Island', owned by a guy with two eyepatches, who distingushes his customers by their scent 0.o  
  
[4] Old man  
  
One chapter left to go! Yup, it Isn't one of my longer fics, but it's one I have enjoyed writing muchly. Do review. Until next time... 


	10. Home

Native Soil  
  
By Todd Fan  
  
Disclaimer: "If they think I'm going to stop at that stop sign, they're sadly mistaken!"  
  
*****  
  
This is it, my lovely readers, the final chapter. I'm quite impressed I managed to churn out 10 chapters with a fic consiting of pretty much an adult, a teenager and a dead guy (that sounds like a bizare movie plot). I thought I'd only get 6, tops, ahh but I was wrong.  
  
Pirate Kit - Aye, I have heard of Monkey Island. Who COULDN'T love a game where the hero's name is something like Guybrush Threepwood?...though Mr I. Cheese is a close second.  
  
******  
  
Chapter 10 - Home  
  
******  
  
It didn't take the pair long to get back down to the car park. Forge could have kissed his truck, he was never going back into the wilderness for as long as he lived.  
  
"We should do this again next year", piped up Dani.  
  
.....Hell no!  
  
"Hell no!", replied Forge, shaking his head.  
  
"Aww, but it was fun", said Danielle.  
  
"Which part of it was 'fun'?", asked Forge, "the arguing? your dislocated arm? or spreading ashes around? Please, tell me what was fun about it.".  
  
Danielle paused at this.  
  
"Because I got to spend time with the only other mutant in my tribe, and one of the few people in the world who isn't afraid of me", she replied.  
  
Forge blinked.  
  
"Oh", he said, before shrugging, "okay, I guess it was fun to talk about my roots with someone who understands them for once".  
  
"There you go!", said Danielle, punching him in his arm, then wincing when she realised it was his metal one, and shook her hand in pain, "you know what we did?"  
  
"Well, I don't know about me, but you just punched metal", chuckled Forge.  
  
"Yes, I know that now", said Danielle, "no, what we did was, we bonded!"  
  
"Oh no", said Forge in mock horror, "now we'll all burn up and die"  
  
"There was no need for sarcasm", said Dani, then smiled, "sooo, now we're friends..."  
  
"Uh huh?", said Forge, not liking the tone of her voice.  
  
"Can I drive home?"  
  
Forge smiled at her sweetly.  
  
"The person whom I willingly allow drive my truck is the person who kills me for it", he said pointedly.  
  
Dani pondered this, wondering if it was really worth it.  
  
"What if I just stole your arm?"  
  
"I would try and drive one-handed and probably run us both over the mountainside", he replied.  
  
"So....there's no chance I can drive, then?", said Dani, "not even out of the car park?"  
  
"No"  
  
Dani sighed, muttering at how unjust it all was, clambering into the passenger seat.  
  
"....Can I at least pick the radio station, pllleeeeaaaaseeeeee?", she asked, trying her best puppy face.  
  
"You're not going to have anything like 'The Festering Scabs', are you?", asked Forge, not liking the idea of surrending his 70's tunes for modern music.  
  
"That's 'Festering BOILS'", Dani corrected, "and no, I don't like them".  
  
She took Forge's defeated sigh as a yes and switched the channel over, cutting off 'Knock Three Times', replacing it with rock music, LOUD rock music. [1]  
  
"Yeahhh!", said Dani, "The 'Descanso Rivets'!"  
  
"...Suddenly, I feel very, very old", said Forge wincing at the loud music.  
  
"You ARE very, very old Forge", said Dani, nodding her head to the beat, "you remember Elvis!".  
  
Forge blinked.  
  
"That SO doesn't make me old", he said.  
  
"You're forty in a few years", said Dani, uable to resist, "that's middle age!"  
  
"Unless you want me to drive this truck into a river, I suggest you stop now", said Forge evenly.  
  
"At least you still have your looks", Dani chuckled.  
  
"Lucky me", said Forge sarcastically, "though they weren't exactly the 'looks' I want",  
  
"Yeah, but you get to live for YEARS longer!", said Dani, "I mean, you'll be WELL into your eighties before you even have a single grey hair. You could live to over a hundred if you eat right!".  
  
"....Not making me feel any better", said Forge, "trust me, this 'prolonged youth' has it's downsides. I'll outlive everyone my own age, don't you think that sucks, just a tiny little bit?"  
  
Daniellee considered this.  
  
"I guess it does a bit", she said, "why don't you make a machine to make yourself to your own age?"  
  
"Oh, I never thought of that", said Forge sarcastically, "I'll start that as soon as I get home!"  
  
"...Can't figure it out, huh?".  
  
"It's harder than trying to figure out the meaning of the universe", said Forge, then off Dani's look, "it's 42".  
  
Dani blinked slowly.  
  
"The meaning of the universe is 42?". [2]  
  
Forge nodded.  
  
"Yup", he said, "I figured that one out while I was stuck in Middleverse, it gave me plenty of time to think, if nothing else".  
  
"You're a very strange man", said Dani pointedly.  
  
"And you're just learning this now?", laughed Forge, shaking his head.  
  
Danielle blew a rasberry at him, and chose to play the music full blast until they arrive at the Institute a few hours later.  
  
"Thanks, Forge", said Dani, hopping out, "...I mean, really, I apreciate it"  
  
"Don't get sappy on me", said Forge with a wave of his hand, "it doesn't suit me"  
  
Dani smiled and headed back into the mansion  
  
~Charles, I know you can hear me, and I KNOW you're hiding~, Forge thought loudly, ~don't think you got away with it, Chucky, I'll find a way to get vengance~  
  
Somewhere in the mansion, there was a small squeak of fear. Even though he didn't hear it, Forge was satisfied Xavier got the message and drove off before he had to spend any longer in that madhouse....and people asked him why he didn't want to be an X-Man! Inside, Kitty sat up as Dani walked into there room  
  
"You're back!", said Kitty, then paused, "and you're ALIVE!".  
  
"You expected otherwise?", said Dani with a grin.  
  
"Ooooh was he mad?", said Kitty, "how'd you get him to take you all the way?. Did he make you listen to 70's music?!!".  
  
Danielle chuckled, flinging her arm around her friends shoulders.  
  
"Lets just say, we were BOTH suprised at each other".  
  
"...Come on, can't I have a LITTLE jucy gossip?", said Kitty, pouting.  
  
"42", replied Danielle with a smirk, before flopping on her bed and falling to sleep, conviently making it so she couldn't hear Kitty.  
  
"What do you mean '42'? What kind of answer is that?!!!".  
  
END  
  
****  
  
[1] - Knock Three Times, by Dawn, my favorite 70's tune!  
  
[2] - Hitchikers Guide to the Universe, anyone?  
  
Wahoo, it's all done! I really enjoyed writing this one, and I hope you lot enjoyed reading it. Thanks for all who reviewed. And, in true Forgey fashion, my parting words are: 'Catch ya on the flip side'. 


End file.
